Switzerland Trip Report - Rick Steves sighting

Day 3 - A hike that turned into 12 hours! A forum post recommended a hike to Obersteinberg that included the waterfalls in the area. Instead of starting from Stechelberg, I had the brilliant idea of starting from Gimmelwald to avoid the extra elevation gain but did not realize that this would involve me doing most of the hike to Tanzbodeli. Very steep and difficult. I did not climb to the Tanzbodeli plateau but went around it, thinking it would easy downhill to Obersteinberg. Boy was I wrong. The descriptions of this hike did not mention how dangerous this part was, exposed on a narrow ridge over some rocks. Thankfully it had not rained recently so the footing was dry but one slip could be fatal. I made it to Obersteinberg then down through the woods with occasional views of waterfalls. There was light rain on the way down so I had to be extra careful to avoid slipping and I wanted to make it out before dark. By the time, I made it to Stechelberg it was almost 10pm. There was a bus and the driver would not even let me on or explain where to go. The bus then passed me walking and went on its way. Shrugs. After a long day of hiking, I had to walk all the way to Lauterbrunnen and it was dark by then. Thankfully the train to Wengen was still running. The reviews of this hike understate how dangerous this was especially the descent from Tanzbodeli to Obersteinberg. The views are great but I spent a lot of time looking down where I was going with hiking poles to really enjoy the view. But I am amazed that I completed it as a beginner hiker.

Day 4 - After the Tanzbodeli/Obersteinberg day, I wanted something easy so I did the hike from the Grindelwald First to Lake Bachalpsee. The route from WengenMy to the First involved two gondolas and a bus ride which I did not realize. First impression - I agree with the lady at my hotel who said that the Lauterbrunnen area was a lot more beautiful than Grindelwald. The First was crowded with the traditional tourist crowd. The 50 minute hike from the First to Lake Bachalpsee was more moderate than easy as it included a lot of uphill stretches but the views at the lake were worth it.

Day 5 - My last day in Wengen. I went to the Murren side to do the hike to Chilchbalm however the cable car up to Gimmelwald took so long with the waiting that my hike started later than anticipated. My luggage did not fit in the storage lockers at the Lauterbrunnen station so I had to leave it at the desk and had to collect by 5pm. So halfway into the hike to Chilchbalm and I turned around and just settled on the Im Tal views then went to Pension Gimmelwald for their famous beer. On the way back, I saw Rick Steves who was recording by himself on his cellphone. I asked if he was Rick Steves but he pretended like he did not hear me so I continued walking. Right after that, I saw the Youtube couple Alpin in the Alps who chatted with me and took a photo.

Also on this day, the heat wave plaguing Europe had reached Switzerland so it was hot. I was glad I did my long hikes prior to the heat wave because they would have been a lot tougher.

Luzern

Onto Luzern, the Interlaken express was a good train ride but the views were not as dead drop gorgeous as people made them out to be or perhaps they paled in comparison to what I saw during my time in Berner Oberland. Thankfully my hotel room in Luzern had air conditioning. Switzerland was playing that night and won. I was having difficulty finding affordable rooms but luckily someone must have cancelled and I got it. It was close to the lake and train station The bathroom was also a little bigger than the previous bathrooms. There were lots of bars and tv viewings in the street. Many restaurants close early and I could not find any late night spots serving food open other than McDonald's. 20 CHF for a McDonald's meal wow but it tasted great when hungry.

Basel

Day 6 - I took the train to go to Basel for Art Basel. The art was amazing and you could easily spend a whole day or multiple days at the event. I also visited Liste and Basel Social Club. The only thing lacking from the art shows is that Swiss people are more closed so there wasn't that fun socializing I get when visiting art shows in other countries.

Luzern

Day 7 - I had my share of mountain views so I really wanted to focus on the lake views. I eventually figured out which boat was the public one and which pier it left from as most of the internet sites do not make this clear. As I was flying out that evening, I cut the boat ride short by taking a train to Brunnen, having a quick lunch there, then taking the ferry from Brunnen to Flüelen because the reviews said this was the most beautiful part of the boat ride. This leg of the boat ride was about an hour then it was train ride back to Luzern.

Other noteworthy items:

Flies

There was lots of flies in the Berner Oberland especially in and around restaurants and stores with food. Because many buildings do not have air conditioning, they leave the windows open and the windows do not have screens so flies get in. At the Coop and the bakery in Wengen, there were flies on the bread items or any food items that were exposed. When eating in restaurants, patrons were often surrounded by flies while eating. I ate lunch at Base Camp in Grindelwald which was highly recommended. The food was good but when I reached to the end of my order of sweet potato fries, there were two dead flies at the bottom which had been fried along with the fries. In Pension Gimmelwald, they were fly trips hung up on the shelves facing the bar and you could see all of the dead flies on the fly traps. In the city areas, they still had the same lack of AC issue but there were not as many flies.

Transportation

I only used the half fare card. I did not spend extra for the Berner Oberland pass as I did a lot of hiking. The most expensive transportation day was the gondola rides from Wengen to Grindelwald then onto Grindelwald First.

Thanks for sharing your trip report, Samantha! We were in the same region about a week before you. The flies weren’t terrible yet, from what I’ve heard, but it was discouraging and unappetizing for me to see them flying around in the bakery cases.

I’m glad you were able to do so many hikes! The Panorama Trail to Kleine Scheidegg was a highlight of our trip! I appreciated hearing about your adventures as I’m making a list for our next trip to the Berner Oberland.

Laurie 😊